All in a day's work!

It is 10:14p.m. and I am just sitting down to blog. So much for blogging first thing in the morning! I guess "better late than never" will be my theme for today.

My day started by dropping the boys off at school. I came home and spent time in Isaiah 1. I am teaching from this passage on Saturday. I then headed to church to drop off a jump drive. Can I confess that when I go anywhere first thing in the morning, it is not a pretty site. I tell you, I have no shame in throwing a baseball cap on my head and meeting the day "no make up" applied. After everyone at church was throughly shocked by my appearance, I headed to the McGhee center to run. For whatever reason, running was HARD today. I think everyone at the track felt bad for me. I finished my laps and slowly walked to my car. Once home, my day was moving at the speed of light! I spent more hours on the phone than off the phone. There are days when I am overwhelmed by the number of hurting people around me. At times I feel so unprepared and so inadequate to respond to the needs of others. Today was one of those days. Oh how I wish life was simpler. I wish there was a neat and tidy solution for every problem faced. All I can say is that I am thankful for the Lord. I am thankful for His presence and His Word in my life. I am thankful that God is greater than any struggle, hurt, pain, or problem faced in this life. God is God and He has the answer because He is the answer!

Once the boys arrived home from school, it was homework time. Andrew has two tests tomorrow so we had a lot of studying to do this afternoon. This is always a challenge and requires patience on my part and perseverance on Andrew's part. All I can say is that we made it through the afternoon! Jake left his backpack at a friends house so I had to track down his work. One that mission was accomplished, I threw supper together. Tonight everyone had their choice of food. Of course this is code for leftovers at my house. Following supper, I headed to choir and enjoyed sitting down for the first time all day. We worked on new music and just had fun laughing and fellowshipping together. Following choir, I picked up two new banners for my book table. Next Monday and Tuesday TVM will be featured at the Arkansas State Evangelism Conference. I needed some super sharp signs for my booth and Dusty at my home church hooked me up! I can't wait to share the pictures with you.

Although this sounds like a pretty packed down, I am far from finished. Now I need to prep my kitchen and bathroom for a little remodeling work that will begin bright and early at 8:15 in the morning. So I guess I better sign off and wash some dishes. However, before I go, allow me to share one of the most amazing passages of scripture with you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" This scripture never gets old. I often need to be reminded that as a believer in Jesus Christ, the old is gone! As a result, I must forsake the old thing and embrace the new thing that God is doing. It is not always easy to forsake the old thing but it is always the right thing to do. In the end, forsaking the old thing and embracing the new thing brings joy and peace into my heart as I live a life that is focused on Jesus Christ.

Real quick, before I go, may I ask you a question? "Do you need to forsake the old thing and embrace the new thing?" If so, do it! You will never have peace in your heart till you surrender to the life God is calling you to live. The old thing may be a destructive habit, a bad relationship, or a negative thought pattern. Whatever it is, determine to be done with that old thing. Embrace the new thing that God is doing in you and live your life focused on Him!

"Lord, help us to forsake the old thing and embrace the new thing. Please give us an undivided heart for You and Your Word. May we settle for nothing less than all of You in all of us--- for Your glory alone!"

Love!
Andrea at TVM